Preventative Measures against Diabetes.

Diabetes is a condition that is suffered by millions of people worldwide.

It takes place when the pancreas is damaged and results in a decrease of insulin production.

Diabetes harms a number of organs including the heart, kidney, eyes, etc.

There are a number of simple guidelines that, if followed, can help us to reduce the risk of suffering from diabetes such as:

1. Decrease the intake of sugary drinks, white flour, confectionary, sweet pastries, etc. These foods force the pancreas to produce large quantities of insulin, which can lead to it wearing down.

2. Ingesting foods that need less insulin due to how slow their digestion is.

These foods are:

Bread, pasta, rice, oats, quinoa, etc. that are either wholemeal or wholegrain.

3. Foods that are cooked al dente, meaning very firm to the bite, causes them to be digested much slower, allowing the levels of glucose in the blood to increase periodically.

These foods are mainly pasta, rice and vegetables.

4. Eating whole fruit as opposed to drinking it in juice.

Whole fruit takes longer to digest due to the high amount of fibre that it possesses which is not present when it is ingested in the form of juice, however that does not mean that juice cannot be drank once in a while.

5. The same thing happens with vegetables or legumes in cream soups, as the glucose level is higher than if it was cooked, baked, grilled or in a salad.

6. Following a type of diet that resembles the Mediterranean diet as much as possible (which is rich in vegetables, fruits, cereals, legumes, fish, etc.) as it has been shown that the Mediterranean diet decreases the emergence of diabetes by 50%.

7. Do exercise.

Research has shown that doing exercise such as simply walking half an hour to an hour a day at a rapid pace, would have the same effect as insulin thereby, decreasing blood sugar levels with the effect lasting up to 12 hours after completing the exercise.

8. Losing weight, in the case of being overweight.

Just decreasing 5 to 10% of body weight can achieve a significantly reduce the risk of suffering from diabetes. The measurement obtained from the waist would give us more information about the probability of suffering from this condition, as the dangerous fats that can infiltrate the organs and lead to diabetes are gathered there.

9. Distributing food.

By distributing food throughout the day and eating five times per day as opposed to two or three, we make the pancreas work less.

And lastly, I just want to say that people that have close family members that suffer diabetes have to adhere strictly to these guidelines as their risk of suffering from this disease is higher than most.

Dr J. Hurtado Martínez

Medical Director of HealthSalus